[HN Gopher] World's busiest international and domestic air routes
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       World's busiest international and domestic air routes
        
       Author : infodocket
       Score  : 99 points
       Date   : 2021-01-08 13:04 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.oag.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.oag.com)
        
       | snake_plissken wrote:
       | This is really cool. From where are they sourcing this data?
       | 
       | And on the Jan 2021 top US domestic routes, what's up with those
       | Atlanta to Ft Lauderdale/Miami/Tampa/Orlando routes? We're only
       | partly through the month so that maybe that's why they are listed
       | but still, I was surprised.
        
         | splonk wrote:
         | ATL is the busiest passenger airport in the world, so I think
         | that just reflects that a large proportion of traffic to and
         | from Florida will route through there, plus just the usual
         | seasonal traffic.
        
         | iknowstuff wrote:
         | Florida's not under lockdown.
        
         | PMan74 wrote:
         | OAG aggregate timetable data from airlines and distribute that
         | aggregated feed.
         | 
         | You'll note their data is "seats" not "passengers" i.e. if an
         | A380 flies from London to Dubai they count that as 525 seats as
         | opposed to however many people took the flight.
        
           | FabHK wrote:
           | Good point. Might, then, also reflect pressure from
           | governments to keep flying, no matter the pax load factor.
        
         | wasdfff wrote:
         | It's people going there to get drunk on sand and avoid the cold
        
         | ransom1538 wrote:
         | Tax law. NY citizens are avoiding taxes and often transfer
         | through ATL. They can live in FL for more than ~180 days and
         | they don't pay state income tax. We call them "snow birds".
         | 
         | "you maintain a permanent place of abode in New York State for
         | substantially all of the taxable year and spend 184 days or
         | more in New York State during the taxable year, whether or not
         | you are domiciled in New York State for any portion of the
         | taxable year. Note: Any part of a day is a day for this
         | purpose."
         | 
         | https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/file/pit_definitions.htm
        
           | lotsofpulp wrote:
           | Why would this be specifically reflected in Jan travel, as
           | opposed to other reasons, e.g. traveling to enjoy warmer
           | weather? Or a non lockdown state in the current situation?
        
             | bobthepanda wrote:
             | Snowbirds are known to spend the winter there.
             | 
             | Summer is not a great time to be in Florida during
             | hurricane season with fairly heavy rains.
        
               | lotsofpulp wrote:
               | Why would they wait until January? Cold weather starts in
               | Nov at the latest.
        
               | bobthepanda wrote:
               | Holiday travel?
               | 
               | This page doesn't have previous months on it. Or I
               | haven't found it with ten seconds of looking.
        
               | lotsofpulp wrote:
               | Oh I see, they might come back to NY for holidays.
        
             | newsclues wrote:
             | Holidays?
        
           | cltby wrote:
           | To the extent you're suggesting you can easily live outside
           | of NY but collect tax-free NY income, it's not really true.
           | Any NY source income remains taxable by the state. In
           | practice, this covers remote work too, despite the safe
           | harbor provisions of TSB-M-06(5)I.
           | 
           | [1] https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/memos/income/m06_5i.pdf
        
             | ransom1538 wrote:
             | The link you gave is about Telecommuters working out of NY
             | but live in FL. This is a pretty small group (no source).
             | It's the retirees and pensioners that get the great deal..
        
       | r3pl4y wrote:
       | They listed Shanghai - Taipei as "international route", let's
       | hope that site stays up.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | blakesterz wrote:
       | Pretty interesting lists. 9 of 10 busiest domestic routes are in
       | Asia. The other is Middle East. USA's top 3 are ATL to different
       | places in Florida. ATL has 4 of the top 10, Seattle has 3, Dallas
       | 2.
        
         | bobthepanda wrote:
         | The routes seem to be in countries that are not locking down as
         | strictly.
         | 
         | Also the Asian routes tend to be routes that are not
         | competitive by HSR for various reasons (Vietnam and Indonesia
         | don't have any, Saudi Arabia's route is not connected via HSR);
         | Bali and Jeju are separated from the other end of their trips
         | by at least one large body of water with no land connection;
         | Beijing, Shanghai, and the PRD are all way too far from each
         | other on HSR to be competitive, as is Tokyo-Sapporo. That
         | leaves Tokyo-Osaka, which is on the list primarily because even
         | with HSR winning the mode share in that market the two metro
         | areas are very large. (34m and 12m respectively, 21m if you
         | count all of Kobe-Osaka-Kyoto)
        
           | asiando wrote:
           | Most of those routes, with the exception of Jakarta-Bali, are
           | in countries that have managed the virus well enough to avoid
           | recurring/permanent lockdowns like in the US and Europe.
           | 
           | When Asian countries had to lock down, they were super
           | strict. See Da Nang (Vietnam) in August.
        
         | bluntfang wrote:
         | ATL is a delta hub, my guess is lots of snowbirds or other
         | people traveling to/from florida for vacations.
        
       | ekabod wrote:
       | (Paris Orly => Pointe-a-Pitre) is listed as an international
       | route surprisingly.
        
         | benoitg wrote:
         | The ISO country codes are different though (FR and GP), the
         | heuristics may be based on that ?
        
         | DigiDigiorno wrote:
         | I am more surprised that MCO/SJU route (Orlando to San Juan,
         | Puerto Rico) is listed as international too.
         | 
         | I am quite certain that is a domestic route, at least for
         | immigration purposes. Perhaps the airline industry
         | differentiates territories as international for some reason.
        
           | burlesona wrote:
           | Yes that's a domestic route, seems like a mistake in the
           | reporting.
        
         | f6v wrote:
         | Moscow - Simferopol isn't international either.
        
           | TurkishPoptart wrote:
           | The UN doesn't recognize the annexation of Crimea, so that's
           | probably why.
        
             | Iwan-Zotow wrote:
             | do they recognize Taiwan?
             | 
             | I doubt that...
        
             | [deleted]
        
             | FabHK wrote:
             | I doubt that the OAG goes by UN definitions or membership
             | (otherwise the flight from China to Taiwan would be
             | considered domestic?)
        
               | [deleted]
        
         | overscore wrote:
         | I wonder if that's because Guadeloupe isn't part of the
         | Schengen Zone and so has passport control for arrivals from
         | elsewhere in France.
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | thatfrenchguy wrote:
           | None of the overseas territories are part of Schengen. They
           | rerouted there because another airline (French Bee / Air
           | Caraibes) doing CDG -> PPT has a base there.
           | 
           | They're doing it trough Vancouver now that they know the
           | Canadian government won't cancel their flights at the last
           | minute ;-)
        
             | fakedang wrote:
             | Isn't French Guiana France proper? I always see it marked
             | alongside the Schengen zones.
        
               | Symbiote wrote:
               | Yes, French Guiana is as much part of France as Hawaii is
               | part of the USA. They use the Euro, and any EU citizen
               | can move there for work, study or just to live (if they
               | have the money to support themselves).
               | 
               | However, it's not part of Schengen. The usual benefit --
               | no queues at the borders -- is pretty limited, when it
               | doesn't border any other EU state, and anyone from the EU
               | must arrive by air or sea anyway.
               | 
               | Since it is part of the EU, crossing the border is less-
               | strict for an EU citizen: an identity card is acceptable,
               | and there's less ability for people to be detained by
               | border guards.
        
         | el-salvador wrote:
         | I thought it was a local flight too.
         | 
         | Last year when countries started closing their borders, Air
         | Tahiti had to reroute their Papeete-Los Angeles-Paris flight
         | via Pointe-a-Pitre.
         | 
         | It was a French Polynesia to French Caribbean to France flight.
        
         | FabHK wrote:
         | Yeah, among the busiest "international" routes are:
         | 
         | * France - France (Overseas region and department),
         | 
         | * Russia - Russia (annexed region),
         | 
         | * USA - USA (commonwealth),
         | 
         | * China (People's Republic of) - China (Republic of)
         | 
         | Goes to show that the notion of "nation" has fuzzy borders.
        
           | yufeng66 wrote:
           | Also, Cario-Jeddah and Cario-Riyadh are formerly Ottoman
           | Empire. Seoul-Tokyo is briefly part of Japanese Empire. The
           | only "true" international routes left are Dubai-London and
           | New York-Santiago
        
             | fakedang wrote:
             | How can you actually equate Cairo - Jeddah and Cairo -
             | Riyadh as remnants of the Ottoman Empire? This has got to
             | be the most ridiculous assertion I've read on this site.
             | 
             | Those routes are busy simply because there are a number of
             | Egyptian expats working in KSA who travel back home for
             | vacations and/or family events and stuff. Apart from that,
             | Cairo and Riyadh are as international as you can get apart
             | from the language - they speak different dialects of
             | Arabic, they have different views on religion, they have
             | extremely different cultures, and they call each other's
             | food shit.
             | 
             | Both parts (Arabia and Egypt) were ruled by their
             | respective dynasties for almost a half millennia, far
             | longer than Ottoman rule.
             | 
             | I don't know why there's a lot of traffic between Seoul and
             | Tokyo, but it's certainly not because the former was
             | briefly ruled from the latter. Comparing these examples to
             | the Russian and French examples is laughable.
        
           | disown wrote:
           | > Goes to show that the notion of "nation" has fuzzy borders.
           | 
           | Or that these aren't nations but empires pretending to be
           | nations.
        
             | Iwan-Zotow wrote:
             | that was good one!
        
       | ransom1538 wrote:
       | Florida.
        
       | leoedin wrote:
       | How does this compare with this time last year?
        
         | Marazan wrote:
         | That's the question I want answered very much.
         | 
         | CJU-GMP would still be top but it would be interesting to see a
         | non Covid affected world.
        
       | iancmceachern wrote:
       | I'm curious how these compare to "ordinary" times. Like I would
       | be interested in the delta.
        
       | ekabod wrote:
       | (Moscow - Simferopol), 4000 passengers/day.
       | 
       | Why is there so many people taking this route in the middle of
       | winter?
        
         | eterm wrote:
         | I think you've answered your question; to escape the Moscow
         | winter to somewhere it's above freezing?
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | usrnm wrote:
         | Because Crimea is relatively warm, it's an interesting place
         | worth visiting and, last but not least, there aren't that many
         | options for Russians to go spend winter holidays in. The next
         | work day is Monday
        
           | wincy wrote:
           | Ahh, a balmy 47oF in Simferopol. I guess it's all relative.
        
             | ricardobayes wrote:
             | Yeah, lot's of places in Russia are -27F or -33C during the
             | day. Brrrr.
        
             | willyg123 wrote:
             | When I lived in NYC I remember the first day it reached 50
             | degrees, sometime in late March or April, you would see
             | people walking around in tee shirts.
             | 
             | Now that I live in Miami, 50 degrees is cause to break out
             | the warmest clothes you own. Definitely all relative.
        
               | reaperducer wrote:
               | _When I lived in NYC I remember the first day it reached
               | 50 degrees, sometime in late March or April, you would
               | see people walking around in tee shirts._
               | 
               | Ditto for Chicago. First 50deg day of the year, and Oak
               | Street Beach fills up.
        
               | DamnYuppie wrote:
               | I can second this. I grew up in the Arizona desert. If it
               | was below 55 degrees people would be wearing jackets. I
               | then lived in NYC for a few years, I too recall the first
               | day it broke 40 degrees. I went out in shorts and a
               | t-shirt, it felt great!
        
       | AnimalMuppet wrote:
       | Why are Denver-Phoenix and Seattle-Phoenix so busy?
        
         | nickhalfasleep wrote:
         | Ski traffic to Denver.
        
         | gffrd wrote:
         | The route involving Seattle is actually Phoenix TO Seattle,
         | which is somewhat surprising, and means 3/10 of the list puts
         | people in/through Seattle.
         | 
         | That's a surprisingly large percentage / number.
         | 
         | Intuitively, It feels like too many people to either be: - On
         | their way somewhere else (home to BC, hopping the Pacific, from
         | AK to lower 48) - Coming for snow (either ending in WA, or
         | legging to BC,ID,WY,MT) - Coming home from holiday - Subjecting
         | themselves to January in Seattle [1]
         | 
         | ... but maybe in aggregate the above add up to our 8-10
         | position.
         | 
         | Now that I've written the above out, and others have pointed
         | out, I'm recognizing a pattern with Atlanta: we don't see
         | bigger cities as starting points, just their aggregation point
         | (Atlanta). Maybe reasonable to assume the same for Seattle.
         | 
         | -- [1] Not a dig, I live here.
        
         | kyleblarson wrote:
         | Probably snowbirds escaping down to AZ for golf weather and
         | government that's not trying to destroy small business and
         | restaurants.
        
         | teachrdan wrote:
         | People from relatively wealthy areas flying to Phoenix for the
         | warm weather?
        
         | rsync wrote:
         | In my experience those are first legs on (cheaper) stopover
         | flights.
         | 
         | If you fly between Denver and (anywhere on the coast) there is
         | always some cheap option that stops over in Phoenix.
         | 
         | Perhaps it is the same with Seattle going east ...
        
       | liminal wrote:
       | This really needs time period comparisons. Year over year, month
       | over month...
        
       | jansan wrote:
       | Very interesting, but i think it would be 1000 times better with
       | an additional map.
        
       | bagacrap wrote:
       | nit: Orlando to San Juan (Puerto Rico) is not international.
        
       | bearjaws wrote:
       | Strange to me that ATL to Orlando is busy, wonder if out of state
       | tourism has recovered slightly?
        
         | powvans wrote:
         | Disney World is open and there are no COVID-19 restrictions in
         | Florida as far as I know.
        
           | matz1 wrote:
           | Yup went to florida recenty, mainly because they have less
           | restriction, glad there is still state that has not gone
           | insane.
        
             | dkdk8283 wrote:
             | The gov passed a bill forbidding restrictions or closures
             | by local ordinances.
        
           | wincy wrote:
           | Florida has guidelines but nothing mandatory, I believe? But
           | yeah I walked into a Papa John's pizza and half the employees
           | were wearing no masks and the other half were wearing "chin
           | diapers" when I visited last month.
           | 
           | I live in Kansas and mask compliance here is actually really
           | high in all the places I go shopping, which someone on the
           | coasts might not expect. People just don't want to cause
           | trouble, even if they disagree with the restrictions. My 82
           | year old grandmother has said as much, she has made a
           | decision that the mental health toll isn't worth it, and
           | she'll risk exposure to go grocery shopping, but doesn't want
           | to cause trouble so wears her mask.
        
             | kylegill wrote:
             | This sounds very Kansas! I grew up there and now live in
             | Utah.
             | 
             | Every time I've gone back I'm reminded just how much the
             | midwest is full of people who are good, friendly, and look
             | out for each other.
        
             | wil421 wrote:
             | I was in the Panhandle last week at my family's place. Can
             | confirm about the chin straps and no mask wearers.
             | 
             | There's a big restaurant nearby that had 200+ people in it
             | and no table or space restrictions. It was a full house.
             | 
             | In Georgia we are still under restrictions and restaurants
             | are at half capacity.
        
               | wincy wrote:
               | In Orlando proper the adherence seemed much better. Maybe
               | because they're a tourist town and don't want to get in
               | the news. To the point that a buffet had us use
               | disposable gloves for each trip to get food. Going off
               | the beaten path was where the mask adherence seemed very
               | low.
        
           | ru552 wrote:
           | Disney World is still highly restricted. Masks are required
           | at all times. Park capacity is handicapped. Hotel services
           | are limited. Ride capacity is restricted. Etc.
        
             | wincy wrote:
             | That said, when I went with my daughter almost every person
             | I spoke to said they were travelling from California, were
             | season ticket holders and were coming to Disney World
             | because Disneyland is closed down. Unintended consequence
             | for sure. We already had COVID in March so felt the risks
             | were acceptable for us, and as you've said Disney was
             | extremely serious about mask requirements, and so many of
             | the things little kids would be interested in were closed
             | down. They really don't want a super spreader event at "The
             | Happiest Place on Earth".
             | 
             | And to preempt people who think I'm acting irresponsibly,
             | you're right. It was a spur of the moment trip and sort of
             | a mental health crisis, I felt trapped and crazy in my home
             | in the middle of winter, if I could go back in time I don't
             | think I'd go. The airplane was completely full and I'm
             | guessing drink sales are way up on planes because that's
             | the only reason you're allowed to take off your mask. Also
             | prices were insanely cheap for flights, $250 for round trip
             | tickets for me and my five year old daughter.
        
               | dubcanada wrote:
               | Fairly off-topic and mostly curious, did it help?
        
               | wincy wrote:
               | Disneyworld didn't really help. It had some cool stuff
               | but it's mostly waiting in line and being uncomfortable
               | wearing a mask constantly.
               | 
               | The ocean and sun did. We drove out to the coast and
               | spent a few days at the beach. I saw the ocean for the
               | first time in 15 years, the second time in my life I've
               | been there. The sound of the waves against the shore
               | filled with me a sense of awe and overwhelming calm that
               | I didn't know was possible. My daughter couldn't stop
               | yelling "this is amazing!", it was her first time. We
               | went to the beach at midnight and she wished on a
               | shooting star. We both got a nice tan. If I could do it
               | again I'd have just spent the whole week on the beach.
        
       | howlgarnish wrote:
       | For comparison, here's the data for 2018:
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_passenger_air_...
        
       | boringg wrote:
       | 1. This is pretty fascinating 2. Can we just add one more mapping
       | layer on top of this for easier info digestion? Seems like a
       | pretty light lift for a big processing human advantage.
        
       | break_the_bank wrote:
       | Not surprised by the London - Dubai route being so popular. Ever
       | since the month long lockdown got announced, a lot of tourists
       | from the UK have been pouring into Dubai.
        
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       (page generated 2021-01-08 23:01 UTC)